Tension headaches: 20-minute body scan meditation, on the train

About this practice

Slow, spoken guidance for tension headaches. A body scan session you can do on the train. A guided session of about 20 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: tension headaches

Tension headaches follow a band of tightness across the forehead and around the skull, usually the product of long staring, jaw clenching and neck position.

It tends to show up as:

• A band of pressure across the forehead
• Pressure behind the eyes
• Ache worsening through the day

Softening the jaw, eyes and neck interrupts the pattern early. Once a tension headache settles in it is harder to shift.

Doing this on your commute

• Headphones on, eyes open or closed depending on your comfort
• Keep one part of your attention on your stop
• Do it standing if sitting is not possible — nobody is watching

Commuting time is already dead time. Nothing is being given up.

How body scan works

A body scan moves attention systematically through the body, region by region. It does not try to change what it finds — it builds a map of what is actually there, which is often different from what you assumed.

• Move slowly, head to feet or feet to head, and do not skip the uncomfortable areas
• Meet each region with plain curiosity rather than a verdict
• Numbness and absence of sensation are findings too

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Find one place in your body that already feels fine. Use that as the starting point.
2. 0:15Your only job is to notice what is there, region by region, without fixing anything.
3. 0:29Let the breath get a little quieter, as if you were trying not to wake someone sleeping nearby.
4. 0:45Bring your attention to where your body meets the surface underneath you.
5. 0:58Notice the difference between the breath at the front of your nose and the breath in your chest.
6. 1:14Let your breathing get quieter rather than deeper.
7. 1:25Feel the outline of yourself, from the top of your head to your heels.
8. 1:39Feel the middle of your back, the part that never gets attention.
9. 1:52Feel the skin around your eyes. Let the muscles behind them go loose.
10. 2:05Feel your palms. Warm or cool, either is fine.
11. 2:16Notice your hands again. Check whether they've loosened on their own.
12. 2:28Give the band around the forehead a shape, a colour, a temperature. Turning it into something specific makes it easier to hold.
13. 2:46When the pressure building behind the eyes presses in, put a hand on your chest or your belly. Warmth and pressure are anchors your body already trusts.
14. 3:06Let the breath be slow enough that you can hear it, just barely.
15. 3:19Feel the weight of the ache from a long staring day somewhere specific, then let the floor take a share of it.
16. 3:37You do not have to win against the band around the forehead. You only have to breathe until the next moment arrives.
17. 3:55Let each breath out be a small letting go of the muscles around your ribs.
18. 4:09Notice the difference between a thought and the space around it.
19. 4:21Start at the crown of the head and move down slowly. Do not skip to the parts that hurt.
20. 4:37Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
21. 4:49Notice if you've been frowning at your own thoughts.
22. 5:00Visit each area with plain curiosity, not with a verdict. Sensation is information, not a problem.
23. 5:15I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
24. 5:27Notice if your attention is in the future. Bring it back to the room.
25. 5:41We will travel down through the body, one region at a time, and leave each one softer than we found it.
26. 5:58No words for a moment. Only the next breath.
27. 6:09Notice how quickly your mind labels things: good, bad, boring, nice.
28. 6:21Move at the speed of your attention, not the speed of a checklist. There is no schedule to keep.
29. 6:37Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
30. 6:49Notice the tone of your own inner voice. Is it kind?
31. 7:01Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
32. 7:11Notice that you don't have to start a breath. It arrives by itself.
33. 7:24Feel your face. It's probably softer than it was five minutes ago.
34. 7:37A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
35. 7:48Your mind will leave about a hundred times. Come back about a hundred times.
36. 8:02Keep following the air.
37. 8:11Notice the small gap after each exhale. Rest there for half a second.
38. 8:24Notice your ears, which mostly just receive things.
39. 8:35Let's pause. Just the breathing for a while.
40. 8:46If a song is stuck in your head, let it play in the background.
41. 9:00Nothing changes for a moment.
42. 9:09Breathe in for four, out for six, if you'd like something to count.
43. 9:22Notice the small movement in your belly when you breathe.
44. 9:34I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
45. 9:47Let the quiet do its work.
46. 9:57If you feel restless, that's a feeling, not a failure.
47. 10:09I'll step back. You stay here.
48. 10:19Notice your pelvis resting on the surface below you.
49. 10:30Feel the last part of the exhale, where it turns into nothing.
50. 10:43Remain here for a few more breaths.
51. 10:53Notice if you're being hard on yourself about any of this.
52. 11:05Silence for a few breaths. Nothing to do in it.
53. 11:17Notice your eyebrows. They're probably doing something small right now.
54. 11:29Notice where you feel the breath most clearly. Nose, chest, or belly — pick one and stay there.
55. 11:45Let the pause stretch out.
56. 11:54If you've lost track of where we were, you haven't lost anything important.
57. 12:07Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
58. 12:18Feel your upper arms hanging. They're heavier than you remember.
59. 12:30Notice if your breathing is faster than you expected. Don't correct it. Just note it.
60. 12:44A few seconds more.
61. 12:53Feel the back of your neck. That's a place that holds a lot.
62. 13:06Let the out-breath be a little longer than the in-breath, without forcing it.
63. 13:19No rush to move on.
64. 13:28Feel the tops of your thighs.
65. 13:38Let the breath move at the speed of a sleeping person.
66. 13:50Stay here a little longer.
67. 13:59Notice your elbows. Odd things to have, but there they are.
68. 14:11Feel the air as it passes the back of your throat. It's cooler going in.
69. 14:25Take the next breath slowly.
70. 14:34Let your whole body be as heavy as it wants to be.
71. 14:47If the pressure building behind the eyes shows up, let it be there without arguing with it. You are not trying to remove it, just to sit beside it.
72. 15:08A short silence. Let it be empty.
73. 15:18There is no correct amount of the ache from a long staring day to be feeling right now. Whatever is here is the honest amount.
74. 15:37Follow the breath down into your belly and feel it come back up.
75. 15:50You have been carrying the band around the forehead for a while. You can set it down for the length of this session and pick it up after.
76. 16:10Nothing about the pressure building behind the eyes has to be explained or justified in this room.
77. 16:25Let your breathing be boring. Boring is good here.
78. 16:36This is not the last time the ache from a long staring day will visit. That is not bad news. It means you will get more practice.
79. 16:56the band around the forehead may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
80. 17:14Let the in-breath be short and the out-breath unhurried.
81. 17:25If your mind is quiet, don't grab at it. Quiet comes and goes too.
82. 17:39If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
83. 17:52If your mind has wandered, that's not a mistake. Noticing is the practice.
84. 18:05A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
85. 18:16If a region feels numb, that is a finding too. Note it and move on.
86. 18:30Let it be this simple.
87. 18:39Start to notice the edges of your body again, and the surface you're on.
88. 18:53Let the last minute of quiet be the last minute of quiet.
89. 19:06Just the breath, still.

Questions people ask

Meditation is a practice, not a treatment. If you are dealing with ongoing distress, please also reach out to a professional.